San Joaquin County Biographies
This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm
JAMES H. SMYTH.
The life of this honored pioneer of 1849 had its beginning in County
Antrim, north of Ireland, February 9, 1822, and its end came in 1885, after
sixty-three years of activity and usefulness. The family which he represented
was of prominent lineage in the annals of Ireland, where his parents, Samuel and
Mary (Adam) Smyth, held a high position in the most refined circles of society.
The mother died at the age of eighty-five years in 1865, and the father, who
owned and operated a large farm, was seventy at the time of his demise. Reading
had given them a broad culture and they aspired to give their children
advantages which they had been denied in their early years. One of their sons,
Samuel, was educated for the ministry and at the age of twenty-two he assumed a
Presbyterian pastorate at Draperston, where he remained until his death forty
years later. Meanwhile he was honored and beloved by the people among whom his
lot was cast, and into their homes he went, welcomed alike in times of joy and
of sorrow, cheering the sick, helping the sorrowing and befriending the needy.
It was the intention of the parents that their son, James H. also should
enter the ministry, and with that ambition in view gave him exceptional
educational advantages for that day and locality. However, his tastes were not
in the direction of ministerial work and after he had studied some wears he
decided that he would seek other avenues of activity. Coming to America in 1842,
he settled in Texas and there engaged in ranching for five years or more. During
1849 he came to California via Panama. For a time after arriving in this state
he mined at Columbia, Tuolumne County, and at Sonora, the same county, but he
met with no special good luck. His next venture was in the hauling of freight
from Knights Ferry to Columbia and Sonora, and later he had several teams
hauling copper from the copper mines to Stockton. In 1859 he bought a raw tract
of 970 acres and later increased his holdings by the purchase of 140 acres and
another tract of 240 acres.
Returning to his old Irish home in 1859, Mr. Smyth was there married
early in the year of 1860, his brother officiating at the wedding, which united
his destiny with that of Caroline M. Smyth, who though bearing the same family
name, was not related to him. Born in Ireland, November 27, 1833, she was a
daughter of John and Mary (Laughlin) Smyth and traced her ancestry to England on
the father's side and Scotland on the mother's side. The wedding trip of the
young people was a voyage to America. It had been the intention of Mr. Smyth to
settle in Texas, but his wife became ill, and it was then deemed advisable to
proceed to California. They came via Panama and settled on the ranch eight miles
from Stockton, where they industriously labored in the improvement of the land
and the building up of a valuable property. Meanwhile he bore an active part in
establishing the early schools and making the first roads through his part of
the county. As school trustee he accomplished much in behalf of the common
schools. It was his belief that nothing promoted the growth of a district more
than good schools and good roads, and his public spirit was evidenced in the
energy and sincerity with which he supported these movements. One of his
intimate friends was the illustrious Captain Weber, who gave him an opportunity
to buy land in his grant, later a part of Stockton, but the difficulties
encountered in perfecting the title caused him to hesitate, and he thus lost an
opportunity which did not come to him in later years. For years he was active in
the membership of the San Joaquin Society of California Pioneers. In politics he
voted with the Democratic party.
History of San Joaquin County, California � Los Angeles, Historic Record Co.,
1923
p 851
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler.